World Health Organization approved emergency use of Chinese coronavirus Sinopharm vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday approved the emergency use of Chinese vaccine Sinopharm against the coronavirus, announced the director general of the organization. It is the first Chinese injectable to receive approval from the international body. In addition, It is the sixth vaccine which authorizes after having verified that it meets the required efficacy and safety criteria.

The expert advisory group on immunization which advises WHO on this matter has reviewed the scientific information submitted by the Chinese producer and recommended to the general manager of the organization to proceed to its approval to have a new tool to stop the pandemic.

This approval will allow the COVAX platform for equitable access to vaccines to start negotiations with the company Sinopharm acquire their vaccines and distribute them in countries that do not have access to them.

The expert committee recommended the vaccine for people over 18.

The WHO approval came after it was reported that this vaccine offers 65% protection to people under 60 to prevent serious symptoms and complications of coronavirus infection. The data has been made public based on reports the laboratory presented to the WHO Advisory Committee on Immunizations.

Clinical trials with the Sinopharm vaccine were conducted in China, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, Peru and Argentina. In Argentina, it was cleared for emergency use on February 21 by the Nation’s Ministry of Health.

First, it was allowed for people under 60. But, at the end of March, specialists who are part of the National Vaccination Commission and the National Vaccine Safety Commission argued that there was sufficient evidence on its effectiveness and safety when applied also in people over 60 years of age.

Regarding vaccine efficacy, preliminary results from phase 3 indicated that offers 79.34% protection starting 14 days after receiving both doses.

Based on the results disclosed to the WHO on the effectiveness of the first dose, the President of the Argentine Vaccination Society (SAVE), Florencia Cahn, commented Infobae: “It is good news to know that the first dose of the vaccine is 65% effective in children under 60 years old. With the second dose, an effectiveness of nearly 80% is achieved to prevent symptomatic diseases and serious images to be maintained over time ”.

The vaccine was developed by the Beijing Institute of Biologics and is technically called “BBIBP-CorV“. It works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies against the coronavirus. Antibodies stick to viral proteins.

The antidote came from inactivated viruses, which is a vaccination modality that has been used for over a century. Jonas Salk used inactivated viruses to create their polio vaccine in the 1950s, and they are the basis of vaccines against other diseases, such as rabies and hepatitis A.

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